Social Question

Should the human body be covered up as much as it is?

Would you join the nu project? (Link is nsfw—it shows ordinary women nude, in their own homes).

Is the taboo against nudity appropriate? Are our bodies really too ugly to be seen? Or is that a cultural phenomenon, made all the more poignant by our fetishization of glamour and movie stars, like we witness at the annual Oscar ceremonies?

13 Answers

If it’s cold outside or if the body that happens to be uncovered/exposed is funky to the nostrils in any form then I say cover it up. Otherwise, I see no point in restricting nudity.

If I have to be exposed to a big fat bright white redneck shirtless neighbor dude mowing his lawn in the summer why shouldn’t his wife be out there with him? & why shouldn’t I be on my lawn chair naked with beer in hand to enjoy the show? ha ha

I myself don’t like the way my body looks at this moment so in reality I wouldn’t ever expose it when there is a camera nearby but otherwise I’m all for naked time.

I just ran across this project recently, and I love it. I wish I were brave enough to do it. It goes beyond just nudity for me. I believe it would be healing to those of us with extensive scarring and physical abnormalities to have our conditions aired out and normalized as opposed to hidden away like something shameful.

Unfortunately, even though I believe with all my heart that there is nothing wrong or shameful about nudity, I have allowed our Puritanical society to shape me such that I’m too afraid to ever do this. I’m afraid it would impact my ability to get a job, or that someone might abuse my photos somehow. Blackmail or something, I don’t know. It sucks.

Well @wundayatta, I have lovely legs, gorgeous feet, smooth skin, a somewhat toned body (you know, breast not as perky, butt not as perky, and we won’t even discuss the abdomen, due to childbirth). I’m not so much ashamed, but I really don’t think it needs to be seen publicly nude/nekkid.

We’re not talking about need. Of course no one needs to see you, clothed or unclothed. That’s not the issue.

The question is whether you agree with the idea that is pervasive in society, that your body should be covered up. If so, why should your body be covered up? Is it offensive in some way? Is it your belly, stretched from child birth, that needs to be hidden from society lest it cause people to double over and puke? Is that what is going to happen if someone should catch a glimpse of you? Or catch a glimpse of anyone with a less than movie star body?

Or is there something else going on here that I don’t get? Some objective reason why nudity will destroy the world as we know it.

Working at home naked, I highly recommend wearing at least an apron. Spattering fat, spilled cleaning fluid, broken glass, and projectile vomiting being just a few hazardous things you need to protect yourself from.

Every time I see some fat guy bend over and his hairy bottom protrudes to an alarming degree, I am grateful that he is wearing trousers and I don’t have to see the rest of the show. The human body is functional, not an object of worship so why go around flaunting it.

I wander around my apartment naked all the time. I go out on the balcony, too, usually without the lights behind me on. I don’t want to get reported to the cops, and I don’t want anyone to be offended by seeing me naked, but I do feel there is nothing wrong with it, and that society is too uptight about it.

I think there is a lot of body shame going around. People are always imagining what others think of them. They find themselves wanting, and so they hide their bodies. Every bit of cellulite and flab and wrinkle is thought to be an offense against humanity. The uglier you are, the less you even go out, much less go out with no clothes.